‘It’s insane’: Somerset Silver Palms softball wins first state title with dominant effort
Caylee Cerda was ready to celebrate as she rounded first and saw her teammates begin to rush out of the dugout.
But when Leilani Gonzalez stepped across home plate to score the run, which capped a 12-2, mercy-rule victory for Somerset Silver Palms’ softball team, the umpires just went back to their stations as usual.
The Stallions had waited five years for a moment like this.
So an extra five seconds really didn’t matter.
The confusion passed quickly and the umpires signaled the game was over, allowing Cerda and her teammates to share in a wild celebration on the field as Somerset celebrated its first ever state championship after a dominant win over Eustis on Thursday night in the Class 3A final at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood.
“I was like, ‘That’s it, we won,’” Cerda said. “I was on top of the world when I was running and saw my teammates running out of the dugout. This is an amazing team. I love having them with me every moment.”
Somerset Silver Palms began building to this moment five years ago when veteran former Miami Palmetto and FIU coach Gator Rebhan became head coach.
The Stallions made it to state for the first time in 2023 and lost in the state final to Clearwater Calvary Christian. They returned last season and lost in the state semifinal to Montverde Academy.
This year, they left no doubt.
After beating Dunedin 9-2 in a semifinal on Wednesday, the Stallions unleashed another offensive barrage on Eustis.
“Those girls came out and put it to them. I’m so proud of them,” Rebhan said. “We smashed. This was great.”
Cerda led the charge with a solo homer in the third and hit the game-clinching double in the fifth inning.
“It felt amazing. Just seeing that pitch, I knew it was my pitch,” Cerda said. “I guess the adrenaline and seeing the team cheered me up.”
Cerda has a knack for coming up with big hits at the state final four as she also homered in last season’s semifinal.
“I was happy for the game but for her as a person. I know how happy she was to hit a home run in a big game like this,” Silver Palms starting pitcher Ava Stevens said. “It’s insane. We’re young and growing as a team too.“
Stevens shined once again both in the pitching circle and hitting.
Stevens pitched all five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits, struck out two and walked one. At the plate, Stevens had three hits and two RBI. Gonzalez and Katelyn Champion also each had two RBI.
“I’m just beyond excited and grateful for this team,” Stevens said. “Just coming out and facing two very good pitchers, everyone wanted it. We wanted it for ourselves individually, but everyone also did it for each other. Unreal.”
Rebhan praised his school’s principal Kerri O’Sullivan, who helped hire him five years ago with the hope he could turn the Stallions into state champions the same way he did for Palmetto when he helped that program win state titles in 2000 and 2003.
Rebhan thought he was done coaching at the high school level after his stint at FIU, but returned to coach a young core of players, some of which are still on the team like Rebhan’s daughter, Taylor, the team’s starting shortstop, Stevens and Gonzalez.
“We started with sixth and seventh graders. We played all the top teams the first year and got our butts whooped,” Rebhan said “The second year, got a little better and third year made it to state.
“We didn’t win it the first time we got here and it didn’t work out last year,” Rebhan said. “But this year, we got there and we won it. Everything came into place.”
